Rep. Sal Pace[2] and U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner[3] teased each other last year when at one point they were drawn into the same congressional district. They now are in separate districts and both are running for Congress.

Two years ago, Democrat Rep. Sal Pace earned kudos for calling out a Republican lawmaker running for Congress who played hookey to mingle in Washington, D.C.

This time around, Pace is the congressional candidate who’s back in Washington and missing the session.

Pace said there’s a difference between his decision to attend President Obama[4]’s State of the Union speech[5] and former state Rep. Cory Gardner’s trip to Washington in March 2010. Pace said the session, which opened Jan. 11, still has a light schedule, but Gardner left when the legislature was in full swing and missed a water vote crucial to the Eastern Plains. The bill nearly died.

“I’d love to see what Rep. Gardner has to say about this,” Pace said, knowing full well that Gardner was in D.C. campaigning.

Gardner, of Yuma, went on to defeat U.S. Rep. Betsy Markey[7], D-Fort Collins, in the 4th District.

Pace, of Pueblo, is trying to unseat U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton[8], R-Cortez, who also campaigned for Congress in 2010 while serving in the state legislature. They live in the 3rd District.

“I’m in the same spot Cory Gardner and Scott Tipton were in two years ago,” Pace said, in a phone interview from Washington this morning. “Unfortunately, running for office takes a lot of travel and time.”

Pace was excused Tuesday and will be gone again today. (A hat tip to Colorado Peak Politics for pointing out Pace was at the speech.)

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently announced the Pace race is one it considers “highly competitive,”[9] meaning the group is willing to commit money and time to helping unseat Tipton.